Hook Rate and Hold Rate: Formulas and Benchmarks for Meta Ads

Short answer: hook rate is 3-second video plays divided by impressions, and hold rate is ThruPlays divided by 3-second video plays. Hook rate tells you whether the first second stops the scroll; hold rate tells you whether the rest of the video keeps the people it stopped. Meta publishes no benchmark for either, so compare each ad against your own account first and published ranges second.

We build AdGraam, whose Meta Ads Analytics shows both rates for every video ad. Everything below also works in Ads Manager on its own.

What are hook rate and hold rate?

They are two creative metrics built from numbers Meta already reports for every video ad:

A worked example: an ad gets 50,000 impressions, 12,000 three-second plays and 3,000 ThruPlays.

• Hook rate = 12,000 / 50,000 = 24%
• Hold rate = 3,000 / 12,000 = 25%

So about one in four people stopped, and one in four of those stayed to 15 seconds.

Hook rate is sometimes called thumb-stop rate. Neither metric appears by name in Ads Manager, which is why teams build them as custom metrics.

What counts as a ThruPlay?

A ThruPlay is a play to the end of the video if it is shorter than 15 seconds, or a play of at least 15 seconds if it is longer. That has a practical consequence: for a 12-second video, hold rate is effectively a completion rate, while for a 45-second video it only tells you who reached second 15.

So compare hold rates between videos of similar length. For long videos, also look at how many viewers reach 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the video, which Ads Manager reports as video plays at each percentage.

Watch for other definitions too. Some teams calculate hold rate as ThruPlays divided by impressions, and TikTok counts views at 2 seconds rather than 3. A benchmark only means something if it uses the same formula as you.

How do you add hook rate and hold rate in Ads Manager?

Ads Manager lets you build both as custom metrics once and reuse them in any report:

1. In Ads Manager, open Columns and choose Customize columns.
2. Choose Create custom metric.
3. Name it "Hook rate" and enter the formula 3-second video plays / Impressions, formatted as a percentage.
4. Create a second metric called "Hold rate" with ThruPlays / 3-second video plays.
5. Save the column set so the two metrics appear next to spend, CTR and cost per purchase.

Set the view to the ad level. Hook and hold describe a single creative, and averages across an ad set hide the ads pulling the number up or down.

What is a good hook rate and hold rate?

Meta has never published an official benchmark. The ranges that circulate come from agencies and analytics tools, each using its own data and sometimes its own formulas:

Ranges checked November 2026. The hook rate numbers broadly agree: around 20 to 30% is typical and 30% or more is strong. Hold rate ranges disagree much more, because sources use different formulas (ThruPlays or 15-second plays on top, 3-second plays or impressions underneath) and videos of different lengths.

The more useful yardstick is your own account. Work out your average hook and hold rate over the last 30 to 90 days, then ask whether each new ad beats it. A 22% hook rate is a win in an account that averages 15% and a warning in one that averages 30%.

How do you read hook rate and hold rate together?

Put each ad in one of four boxes:

Then check what happens after the video. An ad with a strong hook and hold but a poor click-through rate has a weak call to action or offer. An ad with a good click-through rate but a poor cost per purchase usually has a landing page, price or audience problem rather than a creative one.

How do you improve a low hook rate?

The hook is roughly the first second of video and the first line of on-screen text. To lift it:

• Change the first frame. Open on motion, a face or the product in use, not a logo or a slow establishing shot.
• Lead with the payoff or the problem. "My chai is still hot at 3 pm" beats "Introducing our new bottle".
• Put text on screen. Most people scroll with the sound off, so the hook has to read without audio.
• Be specific. A number, a price or a named frustration stops more thumbs than a general claim.
• Test three hooks on one body. Keep everything after second three the same so the hook is the only change.

How do you improve a low hold rate?

Hold rate falls when the video doesn't deliver what the hook promised, or takes too long to get there:

• Pay off the hook quickly. If the hook asks a question, start answering it within a few seconds.
• Show the product early, ideally by second 10 in a 30-second ad.
• Cut the slow parts. Intros, logo stings and long pauses are where viewers leave.
• Add captions so viewers can follow without sound.
• Match the promise. A hook about a result followed by a feature list feels like a bait and switch.

How do hook rate and hold rate show creative fatigue?

As the same people see an ad again, fewer of them stop for it. A hook rate that falls week after week while frequency rises is one of the earliest signs that a creative is tiring, often before cost per purchase moves. When you see it, try a new hook on the same body first; it is cheaper than a new ad.

Where does AdGraam fit? (We build it)

AdGraam's Meta Ads Analytics connects to your Meta ad account and does this arithmetic for you:

• Hook and hold for every video, plus completion and how many viewers reach 25, 50, 75 and 100% of each ad.
• Benchmarks from your own account. Each ad is ranked against the rest of your ads and judged against the target CPA or ROAS you set, or your 30-day average.
• Winners and fatigue flags. Ads are flagged Winner, Scale, Fatiguing or Kill? using a creative fatigue score from 0 to 100, and sudden swings in CTR, CPC, ROAS, spend or frequency show up as alerts.
• An AI analyst that answers questions in plain English from your own data.

It never publishes, edits or pauses your ads; you keep making changes in Ads Manager. When the data says a hook is tiring, the Video Agent can make new hooks for the same script, and Copy Ads can rebuild a competitor's long-running format for your product.

Pricing: sign up free with no credit card, and accounts created with a work email get free credits. Connecting an ad account and its daily AI analysis use a small number of credits, shown in your usage history.

The bottom line

Hook rate and hold rate turn "this video didn't work" into a specific fix. Build them as custom metrics, compare every ad against your own average, and change one thing at a time: the first second when the hook is weak, the pacing when the hold is weak, and the offer or landing page when both are strong but sales are not.

Start free and connect your Meta ad account, or book a 15-minute demo to see your own hook and hold rates.